Blog Post

USA County moving from room auctions to online auctions

28 February 2017

(Photo) Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister poses with an old real property auction book. His office is moving auctions for real estate with unpaid property taxes online, making the books obsolete.

David Sandeman, Managing Director at EIG comments:

"With more and more UK auctioneers adding online auctions to their service offering to sit alongside traditional room auctions, it was pleasing to read that USA county San Diego, not usually known for being at the forefront of change are taking the lead in embracing the benefits of online property auctions in their move to using solely online auctions for the disposal of properties they have seized."

The San Diego Union-Tribune(article extract)

Soon, the county’s auctions will be done in silence, online. Starting in May, real estate that’s up for sale because of unpaid property taxes will be put on a website and sold to the highest bidder. As people become increasingly comfortable with e-commerce, San Diego Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister is taking another step to complete more of his office’s obligations online. "We certainly think it's time for San Diego to step up" he said.

"The switch should help the county sell more properties for more money, while making the process more convenient for bidders. Additionally, by putting the auction online, it will be more of a seller’s market because people all over the world can bid."

Even after fees to the auction company, it's cheaper to take bids online than at a live event with costs of renting a hall, setting up chairs and audio-video equipment, printing a book of listings of all the properties and other expenses.

McAllister said he expects to sell more properties for more money than before.

The switch makes it possible for people beyond the die-hard auction lovers who regularly show up at live auctions to participate. Because it's online you're going to have a bigger population, you're not going to have the handful of people who are just showing up.